Saccharin small amounts

Both Watts and sulfamate baths are used for engineering appHcation. The principal difference in the deposits is in the much lower internal stress obtained, without additives, from the sulfamate solution. Tensile stress can be reduced through zero to a high compressive stress with the addition of proprietary sulfur-bearing organic chemicals which may also contain saccharin or the sodium salt of naphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid. These materials can be very effective in small amounts, and difficult to remove if overadded, eg, about 100 mg/L of saccharin reduced stress of a Watts bath from 240 MPa (34,800 psi) tensile to about 10 MPa (1450 psi) compressive. Internal stress value vary with many factors (22,71) and numbers should only be compared when derived under the same conditions. 

Sacduainyfas the first common artificial sweetener. Saccharin passes through the hody undigested and consequently has no caloric value. It has a somewhat hitter aftertaste that is offset in commercial products hy the addition of small amounts of naturally occurring sweeteners. Such products do have a small caloric value because of the natural sweeteners added. 

A famous incident of unintentional ingestion was that of Constantine Falhberg who, in 1879, synthesized the saccharin molecule. Since lab safety procedures were less cautious at the time, he contaminated his hands with the powder, didn t wash his hands after leaving the lab, and later detected an unusually sweet and off taste when the saccharin was inadvertently transferred to his food. Since saccharin is about 300 times sweeter (per gram) than common table sugar, even a small amount was noticeable. In fact, the off taste is characteristic of saccharin in doses higher than the amounts now used, for example, in the sweetener Sweet and Low . 

The first artificial sweetener to be used extensively was saccharine, which is used commonly as its more soluble sodium salt. Saccharine is about 300 times sweeter than sucrose. The discovery of saccharine was hailed as a great benefit for diabetics because it could be used as an alternative to sugar. As a pure substance, the sodium salt of saccharine has a very intense sweet taste, with a somewhat bitter aftertaste. Because it has such an intense taste, it can be used in very small amounts to achieve the desired effect. In some preparations, sorbitol is added to ameliorate the bitter aftertaste. Prolonged studies on laboratory animals have shown that saccharine is a possible carcinogen. In spite of this health risk, the government has permitted saccharine to be used in foods that are primarily intended to be used by diabetics. 

For many years saccharin has been used by diabetics and slimmers. It has no food value and, since it is excreted unchanged in the urine, the continued use of small amounts is probably harmless. Saccharin is about 550 times as sweet as sucrose and a daily intake of up to 5 mg per kg body weight is considered to be acceptable. The sodium salt is preferable to saccharin itself since it is more soluble and comparatively free from the unpleasant aftertaste of saccharin. Although some people do not like saccharin few toxic symptoms have been reported, but on rare occasions photosensitization has been observed. 

Lerrigo and Williams studied the reactions of saccharin for the determination of small amounts. They recommended the method of conversion into ammonia by acid hydrolysis. The following was the procedure finally adopted ... 

One might suppose on the basis of the amount of attention PTC has received that it is quite a unique substance in its ability to elicit different responses from different individuals. Actually this is not the case at all since wide interindividual differences in taste threshold and taste reactions can be observed with almost anything that can be tasted. Hundred-fold variations in taste thresholds are very common (even when small groups are studied) with respect to substances like sodium or potassium chlorides or hydrochloric acid.41 Saccharine, quinine, cascara, and mannose are among the substances, in addition to creatine mentioned above, for which individuals are known to show highly diverse taste reactions.42 Richter found some children who could not taste 20 per cent sugar solutions.43... 

The sweetener aspartame was discovered in 1965 and approved by the FDA in 1981. It is the methyl ester of a dipeptide formed from the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Because both of these amino acids occur naturally and arc part of nearly every protein, there is much less reason to be concerned about the health effects of this compound. Nevertheless, it has been extensively tested. Aspartame is about 180 times sweeter than sucrose, so the amount that is needed to sweeten a can of a soft drink, for example, is so small that it contributes only negligible calories to the diet. In addition, the taste profile of aspartame is much closer to sugar than is that of saccharin. Aspartame, sold under the brand name NutraSweet, has been an enormous financial success. Sucralose (Splenda) is prepared from sucrose by replacing some of the hydroxy groups with chlorines. Its taste closely resembles sucrose, but it is about 600 times sweeter. Acesulfame K (Sunett, Sweet One) is about 200 times sweeter than sucrose. It is quite stable to heat, so it is potentially very useful in baked goods. 

Risk assessment is a scientific process whereby the level and nature of the risk is determined. If there is no exposure to a particular chemical then there will be no risk at all, for example potassium cyanide in a sealed container is a hazard but not a risk. Risk can therefore be minimized if exposure is minimized. If the chemical is effectively non-hazardous, that is the amount needed to cause harm is unrealistically high, such as with common salt or saccharin, then even if there is a level of exposure, the risk will be so small as to be virtually non-existent. Therefore both the level of exposure and the nature of the chemical (whether or not it is hazardous) must be known if the risk is to be assessed. 

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